Video game teaching 3rd ID troops about Iraqi culture

As they prepare to deploy to Iraq next year, soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division are training not only in the latest military tactics, but also in the culture and traditions of the Middle East.

"There's a huge focus now on the importance of understanding the Iraqi culture," Brig. Gen. Jim Huggins told members of the Downtown Rotary Club on Monday at the Hilton Savannah DeSoto.

Huggins, 3rd ID assistant division commander, said the Army's newest weapon is a software program called Tactical Iraqi that teaches the language and culture in the form of a video game.

"It's very effective because it appeals to our younger troops," he said.

Huggins said some 6,000 soldiers assigned to the 1st Combat Brigade are expected to deploy in mid-January, marking the third combat tour for the Fort Stewart-based 3rd ID since the division led the invasion into Iraq in March 2003.

The 1st Brigade will be joined by the 3rd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Benning, with both groups attached to a Marine division in Iraq.

The 3rd ID's 2nd Combat Brigade is expected to deploy in late summer, Huggins said, where they will be joined by a new Stryker Brigade and two airborne units.

It's all part of the army's evolving modular combat team design.

"We're no longer pure armor or pure infantry," he said. "Instead it's a combination of units, each bringing its own special talents to the mix."